Willits Pot robbery on East Side Road; two arrests

A man was beaten and robbed by two men at his trailer home in the 33000 block of Eastside Road outside of Willits on March 25. Two Willits men were arrested days later for the robbery and assault.

The two men knocked on the victim's door at about 1 a.m. March 25 and forced their way in, according to police. They began beating the victim, and one of the assailants allegedly grabbed a camp lantern and began swinging it at the victim's head. The robbers reportedly took three pounds of marijuana from the victim, as well as his cell phone, before driving away.

When Mendocino County sheriff's deputies arrived, the victim had a swollen eye and a head wound that required stitches. Based on the information provided by the victim, deputies arrested Dustin Sean Cook, 33, of Willits, on March 27, and Rudolph Chavez Esquivel III, 30, of Willits, on March 28 on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and robbery.

The two men remain in custody, and have been arraigned on suspicion of first-degree robbery and intimidating a witness.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 10 in Mendocino County Superior Court.